Monday 6 July 2015

SERIOUSLY ENOUGH

I got home, honked but the gate was still closed which was quite unusual because somehow, the gate was always open by the time we take the bend into our street. My wife would usually say that our security guard had a sensor for our car and would know when we drive into the estate. But on this faithful evening, I honked and honked… No response.

So I came down from the car, nudged the gate a bit and it swung open and there the guy was, on his mat praying. I couldn’t get angry though I was very furious. Am I paying you to pray? That was the first thought that came to my mind, but I went ahead to open the gate myself. All through the motion of opening the gate, driving in, walking back to close the gate, this guy did not bat an eyelid in my direction despite all the deliberate noise I made in trying to close the gate, he was busy praying, breaking his fast.

I got to the car to offload the stuff I had brought home (which he would regularly have done), and just then, it dropped in my spirit… Nothing was going to make him stand up from that mat until he was done praying, he fears his 'god' that much but can that be said about me? He does not mind loosing his job so long as he does not wrong his god. 

As I reflected more on this, it dawned on me that not just my security guard, no Muslim will stop his prayer for anything. They will stand up in the middle of a very crucial meeting to go and pray and we “Christians” will seat there and wait until they return. Some offices shut down literarily on Fridays, when the brothers go to pray and no one is sanctioned for that.

But, it is unheard of that a “Christian” brother will stand up in the middle of an important meeting to go for lunch hour fellowship or even to go and pray during a fasting period, a fellow “Christian” brother/sister will sack you immediately. You dare not even stand up from your seat on a Tuesday or Wednesday or Thursday depending on which day your church holds her mid-week service to go to church when there is a pending report, though it is after work hours, a fellow “Christian” brother/sister will ensure that your head is on a platter for even allowing the thought to cross your mind.

Makes me wonder, do we even take this our God half as seriously as we should?

I’m still thinking about it and will welcome your comments and thoughts around this.

@IamOluwaObinna

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